Mexico to benefit from oil output cut - finance minister

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MEXICO CITY, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Mexican Finance Minister Jose Antonio Meade said on Wednesday that any crude production cut by OPEC would be positive for Mexico’s finances and the health of state oil company Pemex after an agreement by producers to curb output.

“It was becoming clear that there could be an accord, I‘m not sure that it was reached, I don’t know the details, but if it is the case, then it’s good news” for Pemex and Mexico’s finances, Meade told reporters at an event in Mexico City.

Meade later called news of the deal “very important,” again stressing that he was not aware of what it contained.

Earlier, OPEC agreed its first limit on oil output since 2008 after Saudi Arabia said it was prepared to accept “a big hit” on production and agree to archrival Iran freezing output at pre-sanctions levels.

Reuters reported OPEC members had agreed to cut production by about 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) and that the Saudi energy minister said he hoped Russia and other unspecified non-OPEC members would contribute cuts of another 600,000 bpd.

Mexico is not an OPEC member.

The energy ministry was not immediately available for comment on whether Mexico had agreed to cut its output, which has fallen by 1.2 million bpd over the past dozen years.

In the past, Mexican officials have said they would not agree to production cuts.

The price of Mexico’s crude oil export mix jumped more than 4 percent after news of the OPEC cut was first reported. (Reporting by Roberto Aguilar, Michael O‘Boyle and David Alire Garcia; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)